Watching the Wheels Come Off -- Mike Hodges

Today is a day Mark Miles will never forget--and it's only the beginning.

Reg Turpin, the new Houdini and one of Mark's few remaining PR clients, is about to attempt a great feat of escapology, followed by the arrival in town of Dr. Herman Temple, the self-appointed guru, who will conduct a seminar on the dynamics of leadership at the Grand Atlantic Hotel. What could go wrong?

Nothing, apart from the seedy private investigator who's unpacking his thermal underwear, pajamas, and a .32 Smith and Wesson at a local bed and breakfast; assorted women of easy virtue on Mark's trail; a man whose name is really Bela Lugosi; and that's just for starters.

Matters invariably go from bad to worse, and the unheroic hero of this ferocious nightmare navigates the quicksand of fate with a total lack of poise and elegance.